SDO21272 - Summary report of metal-detecting and geophysics magnetometry surveys on Little Field, Deanland, Sixpenny Handley, Dorset

'This report describes the conduct and findings of metal detecting and magnetometry surveys on Little Field, Deanland, Sixpenny Handley, Dorset. Metal detecting over this small 2.74 ha (6.77 acre) field produced 51 identifiable metal finds spanning the Iron Age to Post Medieval periods, which are being recorded onto the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) database by the Dorset Finds Liaison Officer (FLO). The field also has dense scatters of medieval pot sherds, again with a background scatter of Roman era black-burnished ware pot; a random sample of sherds will also be recorded to the PAS database in due course. To investigate the source of these finds, magnetometry data was collected, targeting the concentration of metal detecting finds and crop-marks from a ploughed-out hollow-way/track-way from Deanland to Handley Common. The magnetometry shows traces of occupation that line up well with the scatter of medieval finds. Part of this occupation trace includes one significant magnetic anomaly, coinciding with both crop-mark and LIDAR anomalies, that could be associated with a forge or kiln location. The woodland next to Little Field is known as Currier’s Coppice. A currier was a leather worker, one who dresses and finishes leather, and as a large proportion of the finds from this field are buckles, buckle plates and strap-ends, this report posits the presence of a medieval pottery kiln and leather working shop on this site with evidence in magnetometry, finds and preserved in the name of the woodland.'